Gas-solid contacting apparatus, including means for stripping solid particles



Dec. 20, 1949 c w TYSON 2,491,536

GAS-SOLID CONTACTING APPARATUS,

NS F SOL INCLUDING MEA OR STRIPPING ID PARTICLES Filed Aug. 21, 1945 4 Shee (.s-Sheet l Dec. 20, 194 C TYSON 2,491,536

GAS-SOLID CONTACTING APPARATUS, INCLUDING MEANS FOR STRIPPING SOLID PARTICLES Filed Aug. 21, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 20, 1949 c. w. TYSON 2,491,536

GAS-SOLID CONTACTING APPA US, INCLUDING MEANS FOR STRIPPING SO PARTICLES Filed Aug. 21, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG-4' w 492 5 7/96 134 1 56132 "WT /f Her-5 M 9/ M Patented Dec. 20, 1949 GAS-SOLID CONTACTING? APPARAT-i-Isam:

CLUDING MEANS F0 PARTICLE S Charles W. Tyson,"

R STRIPPING SOLID Standard Oil Developnlent Company, a' cor poration of Delaware Application August 21, 1945, Serial No. 611.871

This invention relates to contacting solid par-- ticles with a gaseous fluid, and more particularly, relates to stripping volatile material from'adsorb'= ent catalyst or contact particles.

In many organic catalytic reactions thecata lyst or contact particles become contaminated orfouled' with organic deposits which may be removed in a regeneration step by burning before reusing the catalyst in another reaction step.

Whenithe'catalyst or contact particles are re} moved from a reaction'zone, they entrain vaporsand gases, and it is preferred practice to stripoutthe volatile material from between the contact or catalyst particles before regeneration.

in the catalytic conversion of hydrocarbons, the' catalyst or contact particles are removed fromthe reaction zone and stripped before Heing'p'a's's'ed' to the regeneration zone in'orderfto remove hydrocarbon'vapors' before regenerating" the catalyst particles. In the newer type of fluid catalyst conversion plants, the fouled catalyst or contact particles are removed a's a .densefluid' ized mixture and stripped while they'are in'this" condition with the result that stripping has not been as efii'cient as desired. With inefficient stripping, the entrained hydrocarbon vapors are passed to the regeneration zone with the fouled catalyst "or contact particles and the hydrocarbon vapors are burned in the regeneration zone there-i by burdening the regeneration zone and also losing recoverable hydrocarbons.

I have invented anew stripping vessel in which the usual annular stripping section 'is, subdivided intocells by means of vertical radial partitions only in its lower portion where the stripping gasis introduced. The rest of the stripping vessel or the upper portion of the annular stripping secf tion'is subdivided into a multiplicity of small" cells by substantially fillingthe said upper portion with a number of tiers of relatively deep" arcuate cellular members arranged one above the other in spaced relation. The areuate members" in each' tier havetheir ends in abutting relation and the bottom layer rests on the top'of the partitions above mentioned.

The members in the next higher plane have de'-" pending supporting or spacing means to space the" next member in each nest a distance above the lowest member.

The supporting and spacing means isformed? from rectangular flat 'metallic pieces or bars-'- which extendatransverselyofthe deep cellular member and extend down from the bottom face 8 Claims; (Cl. 23 288)" of the deepscellular-memberc Each.spacer:bar;-

has its bottom surface restin on a cross bar of or contact mater" l' "mustb'e mixed 2 the next lowerdeepcellular member and in alignment therewith to form,

Th'e'deep cellular members may bemade of any openf'm'esh or lattice? work material, but are preferably made by weldingrtogether a-plurality of subway grating. sections placed one on top another with the openings in alignment.

Inthedr'awifigi Eigilrepresents" a vertical longitudinal section: through one"forni"ofreactor with parts omitted and'parts diagrammatically-shown to illustrate the general arrangement of my improved stripping vessel Fig. 2' represents a vertical longitudinal crosssection'of the bottom in Figlto show'the strippingyessel in greater detaih Fig. 3 represents a partial horizontal transversecross' section' of the vessel shown in Fig. 2; the section being taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figi 2;

rig; 4"is atop. plan-.view of one of the deep cellular members; and

Fig; 5 represents a side elevation of the deep cellular member shown in Fig. .4.

Referring nowt'o the drawing, and more particularly. to Fig. 1, the reference character Hi designatesg'areaction -vessel' in cylindrical form and provided with an inlet Z-for the introduction of re ctantsand ipow ereaor' finely divided catalytic or contact material. If desired, the reactants and catalytic material may be separately introduced into thereaction vessel It. The re actantsim'ay' be"invaporized form or in liquid form; Ifthe' reactants are in liquid form, a sufiicient" amount of hot regenerated catalytic L with the re actants to vaporize 'them and to supply the heat of reaction;

In" the catalytic conversion of"hydrocarbbns",

any suitable conversi6n='catalyst' maybe used; In"

the "catalyticcracking of hydrocarbons, any suit" the catalyst -is'rin .powdered-condition with-the particles ot as sizebetween -about 200- and: 400" standard mesh or even finer. The temperature I I i I in effect,-a partition" extending frorn*"'the bottom to the top of the a plurality, of elongated cells by portion of the reactor shown cular perforated grid or distribution member 15..

The superficial velocity of the gases or vapors passing upwardly through the reaction vessel Ill may vary between about 0.3 ft./second and 3.0 ft./second. The superficial velocity is that velocity of the gas passing through the vessel when the vessel is empty and no solid particles are present.

With the selected velocity and with the catalyst or contact material of the particle size above described, the material will have a density of about 10 lbs/cu. ft. to 30 lbs/cu. ft. in the reaction vessel It. The mixture is in a turbulent condition and has the appearance of a boiling liquid with a level indicated at 22. Above the level 22 is a dilute phase or dispersed phase 24 in which the vaporous reaction products passing upwardly from the dense bed or mixture l8 contain entrained solid particles. The density of the dilute phase is much less than that in the dense phase shown at l8.

The vapors or gases containing entrained solids are passed into separating means 26 through inlet line 28 for the separation of a large part of the entrained solids from the vapors or gases. The separating means is shown as a cyclone separator but other forms of separating means may be used such as Multiclones, etc. One or more separating means may be used and where more than one is used, they may be used in series or in parallel. The separating means is shown as arranged inside the upper part of the reaction vessel II! but may be arranged outside of the reaction vessel Ill.

The separated vapors or gases pass overhead through line 32 to any desired separation equipment for recovering desired products. In the catalytic conversion of hydrocarbons, the vaporous reaction products are passed to a fractionation system for recovering entrained catalyst and desired hydrocarbon products.

The separated solid particles are collected in the separating means 26 and returned to the dense bed or mixture l8 by dip leg or dip pipe 34 which extends below the level 22 of the dense fluidized mixture l8.

During the conversion of hydrocarbons, the catalyst or contact particles become fouled or contaminated and must be removed from the re.- action vessel and regenerated before again being used. Before passing the contaminated particles to a regeneration zone, they are passed into the upper portion of my improved stripping zone 40 which is shown as an annular stripping vessel arranged between a smaller inner cylindrical member 4| and the lower portion of the inner wall of the reaction vessel ill. The cylindrical member 4| extends above and below the distribution plate l6 and has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the distribution plate H5.

Stripping gas is introduced into the bottom of the stripping zone or section 40 by a plurality of pipes 42. The stripping section is provided with a deep cellular member 44 below which is a space 45 and then below which is another deep cellular member 45. Below the deep cellular member 46 is another space 48. The rest of the stripping section is formed by alternate deep cellular members and spaces as will be hereinafter described in greater detail.

The stripped catalyst or contact material passes from the bottom of the stripping section 40 into passageway 52 formed between inverted conical member 54 and the botttom conical portion 56 of the reaction vessel Hl. Stripping and fluidizing gas may be introduced into the downflowing catalyst or contact material through lines 58 which extend through the bottom portion 56 of the reaction vessel Hi. This gas may be introduced to maintain the particles in fluidized condition as they flow through passage 52 but also a sufiicient amount of gas may be introduced to efiect additional stripping of the particles. The inverted conical member 54 is attached to the bottom of the inner cylindrical member 4| above described. The space between inverted cones 54 and [4 may be provided with a gas inlet pipe 60. Steam, or any suitable gas, may be injected so as to prevent catalyst entrance to this zone. The

apex of the inverted conical member 54 may be provided with an opening 62 to permit the release of gas injected into the space between the conical members l4 and 54 to prevent the accumulation of powdered material in this space.

From the passage 52 the stripped particles pass into the upper portion of a standpipe 64 wherein the particles are maintained in a fluidized condition by the introduction of fluidizing gas at spaced points along the standpipe 64 as, for example, by line 65.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be seen that there is a conical elongated member 68 surrounding the inlet line l2. This is provided to permit expansion and contraction of the inlet line during the operation of the reactor. Surrounding the upper half of the conical member 68 between the conical member 54 and the bottom wall 595 of the reactor I0 is a semi-circular guard member 12 for protecting the conical member 68 against abrasion as the powdered material flows down through the passage 52. The lower portion of the inner cylindrical member 4| is strengthened by annular reinforcing members 14 welded to the inner wall of the cylindrical member 4!. The bottom portion of the stripping section 40 is provided with annular wear plates '16 and T8 for protecting the inner wall of the reaction vessel Iii as the material flows from the stripper into the space 52. The top wear plate is arranged directly below the stripping gas inlet lines 42.

The lower portion of the annular stripping section is subdivided into a plurality of cells by vertically arranged partitions 84 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The outer ends of the partitions are welded to the inner wall of the bottom portion of the reaction vessel lil or to a liner inside the reaction vessel It. The partitions 84 extend from the level indicated at 08 to the level 92 adjacent the inlet to the passage 52. It will be seen that the partition plate has a rounded outer lower portion 94 to conform to the outline of the reaction vessel I 0 at this place and the bottom portion of each partition is cut oil at an angle as shown by the reference character 92.

The inner ends of each partition 8d are held in place by clips 96 shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the clips being L-shaped in cross-section and being welded or otherwise suitably secured to the outer wall of the inner cylindrical member M. The partitions 84 are not welded to these clips but are merely held in place by the clips. While I have shown two clips 96, it is to be understood that the 5 number. ofaclips may beivaried andmoreemay -be used, if desired.

Thelowermost deep .cellular member I L. rests on the top of ther-partitions 84. Asshownin Fig. 3, thetdeep cellular member I02. is; elongated and itslength 'is.eq.ual. to. aboutlthe distance between threelotthepartitions-B4. In theparticular form shown .inethe drawing; .there .-.are six: deep cellular membersaini eachtquarter: of the annular strip-- ping. section and. 13 partitions: 84 in the same. quarter of=v the, annular stripping section; From; thisit will-be seen-:thatthere is ample supportfor-l each-deep :cellular member;

Abovethe: bottom deep cellular .member I 02 is a space 14., Above thespacellM is another. deep. cellular member I06 which is; provided on. itslower face with depending, supporting, and space ing. means which. will. be presently described in. greater}- detail. 1 Above the: deep cellular member lolii-isranother space- I88: above which is: another. deep cellular memberflZ. Above the deepcellu-a lar. member H2 is-anotherspace I. l 4- above, which is another. deep cellular member H6. Aboverthe deep; cellular member H6 is another space I I8 above whiohdsanothendeepcellular member [22. Abovev the..dee cellular member 1-22. isthe space 48,ithe deep, cellular member 46, the space and the .deepcellular. member 44in thatorder as previously: described.-

Thetop deeprellular member 44 is preferablyarrangedv a: short. distance below the top 82 of the-inner cylindrical member 4 I.

Referring nowtoFigs; 4 and 5, the constructionlofatheaspecificideep cellular member will be. described; As shown-.in-Fig. the deepcellular, member isformedby stacking subwaygrating sections |-32,withthe openings in alignment and welding. or otherwise securing the sections togetheraslshownat-l34. As shown in Fig. 4-, the deepcellularmember I06, which comprises a .car-- tridge or bundle. of? subway grating sections; is. formed by relatively shorttransverse parallel. spaced-:crossbarsor strips 136 and-longitudinally extending; spaced parallel-cross bars or strips. I38.- whicht-extendeat right angles-to the bars-orastrips I36 In thisiwamrectangular openings: M0 are. provided. Due to -the shape of the 'annularstrip ping. section-,- certain of the end openings are: of: difi'erent configuration;

The inner. longitudinal side: of: the: cartridgeor bundle. shown generally at I421 follows an: arc. to-yconform to. the inner cylindrical member 4L, The. outer elongatedside I 44 follows anarc to conformto-thezcylindricalwallofthe vessel:

ID.- The. ends, I46 and: l48- ofthe cartridge or;

bundle. lllfiflareicut 01f at an= angleor along a. radiaL-lina so that the ends, of. adjacent bundles; willlbe.iniabutting relation.

Referring nowtoFig. 5, the supporting and spacing means will. be described. In addition to? being supporting and-spacing. means,- the plates forming: part of. the spacing and" supporting means function to separatetlieannular-stripping. section:int'orverticallcellstas will be explainediin; thedescription which. follows. Depending from. the bottom face of the bundle or cartridge. IUB. are the. supporting. means generally-l indicated; [52,. 154-.and I56" The spacing and-supporting means. l521comprises arectangular metallic sheet havingits. upper endwelded or otherwise secured to one of the-crossbars oflthebundle or cartridge- IUG; This (rectangular plate is.- shown' at I64. and-- hasjitsiupper. end? welded-as at; l 66; The rectanw gular member L69. extendsgtransverselyrentirely" acrDSSi-the bundle; or cartridge Hlfiz as: shownsbyr theedottedilineseimEig e Atvleast two gusset piecesl=68.1are@provided having one.side-- :at1.rigte1 angles. to the-ereotangnlar. piece; I64 and l welded.

theretoatal'li Theiother ontop side. oisthec-gussets |68ris;-;welded to'rone or the, cross bars in'thee. At,

bundle? or cartridge Hi6 as: shown. at I14. leastgtwozof such gussets are used as indicated: the reference character lfiflain-Fig .4;

On- :the .other; sideofl the cartridge: I 06 and .de--

pending from .thelower-face is another rectanglhlarsheet" H6 andza-gusset III-1. which are of similar v constnuctiomto that. justdescribed in connection, with: the; supporting means I52 Ther-centralrsupporting and .spacing-means-HG. is similar to. the: other supporting means just-.-

described and includes rectangular sheet H8 and gusset H9 which are-similar in constructionto thoseflust described; The flatmetallic sheet-HG extends transversely across I the entire widthof the bundle; or; cartridge".- I06.

The central supporting and spacing means I56- differsefrom the othersupporting-means in that twoor more clips are: provided which; extendv below:the1lower= end of the" rectangular sheet 118.

Each oftheseeclips comprises two-i-short strips-oi metal I and: 181 having; their upper ends: 82 secured: to 1 the lower faces: of; the rectangular:

sheet-1. I18" andextending below the lower end of the rectangular;sheet-- I18 to provider socketv I84: In.placing;oneoffthe cartridges above the other, the clips 18.0 are ;used'.t'o position and guide the cartridgeor bundle. arranged to straddlathe central transversezcross' barof the-'next-lower cartridgeor bundle.-

As above pointed out, the rectangular sheet When the cartridges jareaaligned one above-the.

other; elongated: cellsare provided throughout the lengthof the annular stripping section by the I rectangular; pieces cooperating with the'verticalwallsofithebundles or cartridges.- With this construction"; it-is not necessary to provide vertical partitions; extending throughout the length of the'annularstripping sectionz Thezbundles or.- cartridges arex.spaced apart: one above the other andzati-thesame timerelongated cells-.areprovided. by the-:formrorsieparating and supportingmeans;

disclosed in connection wit-h my'invention:

While-JI- have-described indetail-one-method .of-. v

supporting,thecartridges-0r bundles by depend-. ing legs, it is:.also.possible-to obtain a similar constructionand. result by the useof superime posed'legs. Thiswill result in eachibundle. above. restingon ,theextendinglegs -of.thegbund le below. In efict, a' similar type .of' construction may be used. as shown in Fig. 5"with' the exception that" the" top and" bottom" of the drawing would be exchanged. With this" construction, bottomcellular' member I02 would have legs extending fromtheatopthereofand top cellularmember 442 would'l'iave no legs;-

It issalso possible-tor obtaimasi-inilar apparatus..-

by placing bothzdependingzandt-superimposedzlegs,

on altemateibundleseused inioonstructiunzofi thez;

T-he-- rectangular sheet. I16 also extends transversely? across theientire *widthof the cartridge' or bundle.

The socket: I84

stripper. In some instances this type of construction may have advantages of added economy in first cost. With this construction bottom cellular member I02, intermediate cellular members H2 and I22 and top cellular member 44 would have no legs and intermediate cellular members [06, H6 and 46 would have both depending and superimposed legs.

The apparatus as specifically described illustrates th division of a stripper by the extension of certain cross-members (36 (shown in Figs. 4 and as members I92, I94 and I96) to meet the corresponding cross-members of the adjacent bundle above and/or below. It is also within the scope of this invention to extend similarly one or more longitudinal members I38 in each cellular member to further subdivide the cells formed by the bundles. In this case it may also b desirable to provide a partition or partitions similar to partitions 8A, but at right angles thereto to extend the longitudinal subdivisions to a level lower than the lowest bundle. a steam inlet similar to 42 should be provided for each cell so formed.

In the form of my invention as applied to commercial practice, the reaction vessel has an internal diameter of about 23 feet. The stripping section has a width of about 1 feet and a height from the top of the stripping line inlet 62 to the top of the inner cylindrical member M of about 14 feet. As shown in the drawing, and more particularly in Fig. 5, each cartridge or bundle is made up of 4 subway grating sections stacked one above the other with the openings in aligned relation and the subway grating sections welded together. Each bundle or cartridge has a depth of about 1 it. and the space between the cartridges is about 5". The size of the bundles or cartridges may be varied and the spaces between the cartridges may be varied.

In the specific form of bundle or cartridge shown in Fig. 4, the cartridge has a length of about 2 ft. 7 /2 in. at its shorter side and about 2 ft. 11 in. at its longer side. a

In a catalytic cracking operation, the temperature in the reaction zone is about 940 F. and the fouled catalyst particles entering the upper portion of the stripping zone or section 40 is also about 940 F. Stripping gas, such as steam, oxygen free flue gas, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc., but preferably steam, is introduced at a temperature of about 350 F. The stripping gas flows upwardly countercurrent to the downflowing catalyst particles. During stripping the catalyst particles are maintained in a dense fluidized condition of about the same density as or perhaps slightly less than exists in the reaction zone or vessel It. The spaces between the cellular cartridges or bundles are provided to redisperse the particles in the stripping gas and to prevent channeling of the gas through the smaller cells in the cartridges or bundles.

In a commercial unit the amount of catalyst stripped is about 800 lbs/minute per square foot of stripper area and the amount of steam is about 2 5 lbs. /minute per square foot.

In the specific form of the invention shown in the drawing, and more particularly in Fig. 3, there are 24 bundles or cartridges of subway grating in each layer and there are '7 layers of such bundles or cartridges in the stripping section. Thereare '72 short vertical partitions 84 and 72 stripping inlet pipes 42. From thisitwill be seen that for each cell formed by the partitions 8d at In this case also,

8 the bottom of the stripping zone there is one stripping gas inlet pipe 42.

While I have described the apparatus for stripping powdered solids from trapped or entrained gases as applied to a stripper of annular cross section, I do not wish to limit myself to this particular arrangement. Use of the invention described may be made in strippers of circular cross-section either within the reaction vessel or in a separate vessel from the reaction vessel but joined to it by suitable conduit or conduits.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from th spirit of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of the character described for stripping solid particles which includes a vessel for contacting solid particles and gaseous fluid, means for introducing solid particles and gaseous fluid into said vessel, an annular stripping chamber in the lower part of said vessel through which particles are passed for stripping, said annular stripping chamber in its lower portion being subdivided into a plurality of cells by vertically arranged radial partitions, means for introducing stripping gas into said cells at the lower portion of said stripping chamber, a plurality of tiers of deep cellular members, each member comprising a plurality of longitudinal and transverse plates forming a multitude of long passageways of small cross-sectional area, the cellular members in each tier being arranged in abutting relation in order to substantially fill the cross-section of the annular stripping chamber, the lowermost tier of cellular members resting on the upper ends of said partitions and spacer bars between the several tiers of cellular members, each of said spacer bars being aligned with a plate of the cellular member above and below it, said aligned spacer bars and plates dividing the stripping chamber into vertical elongated cells 2. An apparatus of the character described for stripping solid particles which includes a Vessel for contacting solid particles and gaseous fluid,

means for introducing solid particles and gaseous fluid into said vessel, an annular stripping chamber in the lower part of said vessel through which particles are passed for stripping, said annular stripping chamber in its lower portion being subdivided into a plurality of cells by vertically arranged partitions, a plurality of deep cellular members spaced one above the other and arranged around said annular stripping chamber, means for introducing stripping gas into said cells at the lower portion or said stripping chamher, the lowermost deep cellular members resting on the upper ends of said partitions, the deep cellular members above the lowermost members being provided with depending means for spacin and supporting the cellular members one above the other, said spacing means resting on the top surface of the next lower deep cellular member, said depending means being so formed and arranged to divide the spaces between said cellular members into a plurality of passageways.

3. An apparatus of the character described including a cylindrical vessel, means for introducing solid particles and gaseous fluid into said vessel, a smaller diameter cylinder in the lower part of said vessel and forming a deep annular space, said annular space being subdivided in its lower portion into a plurality of cells by vertically arranged partitions extending transversely of said space, a plurality of bundles of stacked jihe ame. iz a sa ja i er levels in said annula 5 p 6 ismtinas ci ns v sai 11ri ar .sna ,sa s ;hun-

id e e n spaced n .a th re hs i al n re ation nd arra ed around. saidannl ar s ars mean to -int o ucin s ripp n gas into sa partitions; thebundlesaboye tli bottpmjbunglies" being provided with bottom proj ectir g means for spacing and supporting thebundl s one :th ethe oferm'a a sul s f and'suppol'ting mean r stia gepa A, by.the,upper surface-of the next ower bundle, said depending means comprising of plurality of flat vertical plate membersqarranged in spaced relation and forming lower continuations of certaimof thetransverse-cross-b'ars ofupper bundles so that the spaces between said bundles are subdivided into a -plurality of,,;passages. so that the strippipg gas in passing upwardly through said annular space is conducted' through the cells-of -;the bundles and through the passages-iiflrthe {spac es -between said-bundles.

apparatus-ofthe character described including a cylindrical vessel, means for introducing solid particles and gaseous fluid into said vessel, a smaller diameter cylinder in the lower part of said vessel and forming a deep annular space, said annular space being subdivided in its lower portion into a plurality of cells or passages Iby vertically arranged partitions extending transversely of said space, a, plurality of bundles of stacked grating sections in said annular space, said bundles being spaced one above the other in aligned relation and arranged around said annular space, means for introducing stripping gas into said cells at the lower portion of said stripping chamber formed by the vertically arranged pantitions, the bottom bundles forming an annulus of about the same size as said annular space and resting on and supported by the upper ends "of said partitions, the bundles above the bottom bundles being provided with bottom projecting means for spacing and supporting the bundles one above the other to form an annulus of bundles at difierent levels in said annular space, said spacing and supporting means resting on and supported by the upper surface of the next lower bundle, said depending means comprising a plurality of flat vertical plate members arranged in spaced relation and forming lower continuations of certain of the transverse cross bars of upper bundles so that the space between said bundles is subdivided into a plurality of passages substantially the same in number as the bottom cells provided by said partitions so that the stripping gas is caused to follow vertical paths confined by said plate members in the spaces between said bundles.

5. An apparatus of the character described for stripping solid particles which includes a vessel for contactin solid particles and gaseous fluid, means for introducing solid particles and gaseous fluid into said vessel, a deep annular stripping chamber in the lower part of said vessel through which particles are passed for stripping, said annular stripping chamber in its lower portion being subdivided into a plurality of cells by vertically arranged partitions, a plurality of deep cellular members spaced one above the other and arranged around said annular stripping chamber abutting end to end to form annuli of deep 1 1 its slil V gypitions", i the iof r. pips seeporti int gli lral v;

stacked gratingsctidns' in said annular spa e, said bundles being arranged in abutting end to end relation around said annular space and spaced one above the other in aligned relation to form at least two annuli, means for introducing stripping gas into said cells at the lower portion or said stripping chamber formed by the vertically arranged partitions, the lowermost bundles forming an annulus of about the same size as said annular space and resting on and supported by the upper ends of said partitions, the bundles in the next higher annulus being provided with bottom projecting means for spacing and supporting the bundles in the said next higher annulus, said spacing and supporting means restmg on and supported by the upper surface of the next lower annulus of bundles, said depending means comprising a plurality of fiat vertical plate 5 members arranged in spaced substantially parallel relation and forming lower continuations of certain of the transverse cross bars of upper bundles so that the space between said bundles is subdiv ded into a plurality of passages so that the stripping gas in passing upwardly through said annular space is conducted through the cells of the bundles and through the passages in the space between said bundles.

7. An apparatus of the character described includmg a cylindrical vessel, means for introducing solid particles and gaseous fluid into said Vessel, a smaller diameter cylinder in the lower part of said vessel and forming a deep annular space, said annular space being subdivided in its lower portion into a plurality of cells or passages by vertically arranged partitions extending transversely of said space, a plurality of bundles of stacked grating sections in said annular space, said bundles being spaced one above the other in aligned relation and arranged around said annular space in end to end relation to form a plurality of annuli, means for introducin stripping gas into said cells at the lower portion of said stripping chamber formed by the vertically arranged partitions, the bottom bundles forming an annulus of about the same size as said annular space and resting on and supported by the upper ends of said partitions, the bundles in the annuli above the bottom annulus being provided with bottom projecting means for spacing and supporting the bundles one above the other to form an annulus of bundles at different levels in said annular space, said spacing and supporting means resting on and supported by the upper surface of the bundles in the next lower annulus, said depending means comprising a plurality of flat vertical plate members arranged in spaced substantially parallel relation and forming lower continuations of certain of the transverse cross bars of the grating of an upper bundle so that each bundle has more than one plate member and so that the space between the annuli of said bundles is subdivided into a plurality of passages substantially the same in number as the cells provided by said partitions whereby the stripping gas is caused to follow vertical paths confined by said plate members between said bundles.

8. An apparatus or the character described for stripping solid particles which includes a vessel for contacting solid particles and gaseous fluid, means for introducing solid particles and gaseous fluid into said vessel, an annular stripping chamber in the lower part of said vessel through which particles are passed for stripping, said annular stripping chamber in its lower portion being subdivided into a, plurality of cells by vertically arranged partitions, a plurality of deep eellulai members spaced one above the other and arranged around said annular strippin chamber, means for introducing'stripping gas into said cells formed by said partitions at the lower portion of said strippin chamber, the lowermost deep cellular members resting on the upper ends of said partitions, means for spacing and supporting the cellular members one above the other, said spacing and supporting means comprising at least one flat elongated vertical member between each cellular member and forming a continuation of aligned walls of the cellular members arranged one above the other to form elongated passageways extending the full height of the several superposed members.

CHARLES W. TYSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,213,798 Anne Sept. 3, 1940 2,359,310 Hemminger Oct. 3, 1944 2,394,814 Snuggs Feb. 12, 1946 

